Nuit de Cellophane, the spring 2009 release from Serge Lutens, has surprised many by seeming too pretty and simple for the house that brought us Muscs Kublai Khan, Ambre Sultan, Chergui and many others. When it comes to Lutens, the expectations are many, but a fruity-floral isn't one of them. The result was people wondering if Papa Serge has lost it or sold out, because Nuit de Cellophane is just too...wearable.
I fell in love with it from the very first sniff. In my perfume cabinet, "pretty" scents aren't very prominent. I guess I needed a new one, and Nuit de Cellophane fit my idea of a beautiful summer fragrance. It's not that I haven't tried others. I had high hopes for several ones from Ormonde Jayne, including Osmanthus, which is sometimes compared to NdC, but as is often the case when my skin meets florals, things didn't work out as expected. There's always something off- a jasmine that gets too green and screechy, a rose gone sour or a whole composition that tightens its hands around my neck (hello, Datura Noir).
Nuit de Cellophane on its osmanthus-jasmine-honey-musk structure is perfectly balanced. The fruity notes- a rounded mandarin in the opening and the apricot derivative of the osmanthus, are not too sweet and have more texture than actual taste, if that makes any sense. Wearing it feels like putting on that perfect summer dress, the one that just fits effortlessly but still looks stunning, showing just enough glowing skin without the risk of a wardrobe malfunction, or clings just the right way, making one's figure look flawless.
The honey is more of a background note here, it's nothing like Miel de Bois. It serves the purpose of helping the notes glide into the gentle wood-musk base, and stays there to keep things sweet. Nuit de Cellophane is perfect for day as it is for night. When layering, it plays amazingly well with Santal Blanc, and I've also started experimenting with Rousse. If you have more ideas, please comment (I'm still working on the ultimate Serge layering post).
I don't play the What Is Papa Serge Trying To Tell Us? game in deciphering and making sense of the Lutens body of work. I love and wear about 75% of his perfumes, because I find them breathtaking and they work for me. Nuit de Cellophane isn't any different in that regard. It's a rich, layered fragrance that blooms beautifully on my skin, regardless of its ranking compared to MKK.
Images:
photo of Anna May Wong from starletshowcase.blogspot.com
Night Magnolia by the amazing N. Robert Wagstaff
Nuit de Cellophane ($120) is available from the trifecta of luxury department stores (Barneys, Bergdorf and Neiman Marcus) and also from Aedes, Scent Bar and Beauty Habit. Most of them sell online, I bought mine from the latter.
I fell in love with it from the very first sniff. In my perfume cabinet, "pretty" scents aren't very prominent. I guess I needed a new one, and Nuit de Cellophane fit my idea of a beautiful summer fragrance. It's not that I haven't tried others. I had high hopes for several ones from Ormonde Jayne, including Osmanthus, which is sometimes compared to NdC, but as is often the case when my skin meets florals, things didn't work out as expected. There's always something off- a jasmine that gets too green and screechy, a rose gone sour or a whole composition that tightens its hands around my neck (hello, Datura Noir).
Nuit de Cellophane on its osmanthus-jasmine-honey-musk structure is perfectly balanced. The fruity notes- a rounded mandarin in the opening and the apricot derivative of the osmanthus, are not too sweet and have more texture than actual taste, if that makes any sense. Wearing it feels like putting on that perfect summer dress, the one that just fits effortlessly but still looks stunning, showing just enough glowing skin without the risk of a wardrobe malfunction, or clings just the right way, making one's figure look flawless.
The honey is more of a background note here, it's nothing like Miel de Bois. It serves the purpose of helping the notes glide into the gentle wood-musk base, and stays there to keep things sweet. Nuit de Cellophane is perfect for day as it is for night. When layering, it plays amazingly well with Santal Blanc, and I've also started experimenting with Rousse. If you have more ideas, please comment (I'm still working on the ultimate Serge layering post).
I don't play the What Is Papa Serge Trying To Tell Us? game in deciphering and making sense of the Lutens body of work. I love and wear about 75% of his perfumes, because I find them breathtaking and they work for me. Nuit de Cellophane isn't any different in that regard. It's a rich, layered fragrance that blooms beautifully on my skin, regardless of its ranking compared to MKK.
Images:
photo of Anna May Wong from starletshowcase.blogspot.com
Night Magnolia by the amazing N. Robert Wagstaff
Nuit de Cellophane ($120) is available from the trifecta of luxury department stores (Barneys, Bergdorf and Neiman Marcus) and also from Aedes, Scent Bar and Beauty Habit. Most of them sell online, I bought mine from the latter.
No comments:
Post a Comment